1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate to the integration of a fuel driven internal combustion engine (actuated by gasoline, diesel or other fuels) with electric power operation for the same engine. The benefits of this integrated design may include better fuel economy, such as for hybrid vehicle applications, which may be achieved in a less complex arrangement of components, along with weight reduction accomplished by, among other things, having fewer needed components than has been achieved with related art hybrid vehicle technology, as well as the capability of varying the proportion of drive power obtained from burning fuel versus electricity.
2. Background of the Technology
To assist in understanding operation of aspects of the present invention, a conventional car's engine operation will now be briefly described. A conventional gasoline or diesel internal combustion engine of the most common type employs a given number of cylinder chambers, typically from 4 to 8. For example, an inline cylinder engine is common for 4 cylinder designs, a V6 structure or inline 6 arrangement for 6 cylinder designs, a V8 arrangement for 8 cylinder designs, and a flat (or so-called boxer) engine for some less common designs. During operation, each cylinder is sequentially charged with gasoline, diesel, or other combustible fuel, along with air, which is compressed and then combusted (in conjunction with generation of a spark by a spark plug for some fuel types) producing an in-cylinder explosion that produces motion of the enclosed piston, in turn rotating the engine's crankshaft to produce rotary motion in the drive train (or driveline). The output motion of the crankshaft travels through the drive train and typically is transmitted to gear arrangement(s) to propel the vehicle, for example. The exhausted gas mixture in the cylinder is then removed in an exhaust cycle for each cylinder.
Combustion engines are normally designed to operate in either two or four stroke combustion cycles. For the four stroke version, which is the more common variation for most conventional vehicles, an intake stroke, a compression stroke, a combustion stroke, and an exhaust stroke are used. The strokes typically occur in conjunction with operation of a camshaft that controls the timing cycles of particular cylinder valves, certain of which open to control the entry of fuel, close (e.g., during combustion), and certain of which open to exhaust expended gases.
There is a further unmet need in the related art to provide methods, systems, and devices that combine the power and conventional benefits of existing combustion engines with the efficiency and pollution reduction, among other features, of electric power.